This was the second book I have read by this author, for I read her first novel, The Language of Flowers, previously and which I enjoyed immensely. This second book, however, I felt something was missing towards the end and if you read the acknowledgements, the author herself admits to this novel being a struggle, which may explain this a bit.

This is about mother who struggles well mothering her children until she is forced to. She is a young woman who was raised in California by illegal immigrant Mexican parents. Her parents move back to Mexico and thus, she is left with her 15 year old and her 7 year old to figure out how to be a parent.

I found it a bit aggravating that she was so hesitant with her relationship with Rick in this novel. I felt like screaming at her, I will take Rick if you won't have him! He was such a good guy, but not in that annoying I don't want him type of way; a genuine good guy.

I did, however, like that DACA was mentioned. That acronym gets thrown around a lot in the United States and it was interesting to hear it described in a story.

Nonetheless, the ending felt rushed. It felt like it all tied together too nicely and real life just isn't like that all the time. It was too much of a cookie cutter ending for me and left me with a lot of unanswered questions, hence the reduction in star here. Maybe the ending was the author's ultimate struggle?

Overall a recommended read, but I still prefer her first novel over this one.